Pelemus-McSoy's game Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Splitting: Chapter 3]

The story and world building continues to be engaging, the music changing when in the shadows versus in the presence of a mirror is a nice touch, and the puzzles are challenging enough while being relatively intuitive (and being able to speak through the mirror is an organic and helpful way to get a clue on what to do that doesn't outright give the answer).

However, I did notice a minor lack of polish in some areas:
~A few too many typos slip through ("wonder" instead of "wander", "dtaff" instead of "staff", "No Name" instead of "Cat Bowl" outside of the asylum on the first night, etc.)
~The medical room is labeled "The Warden's Office" (making me think I skipped a puzzle).
~I found a potential softlock in the Visiting Room: If you put the Dish Towel on the mirror and then use the Blanket, you lose the Dish Towel item, and cannot remove the blanket from the mirror. If you haven't gotten the Chocolate from the vending machine or found the use for the Dish Towel, you won't be able to finish the game and have to start over.

[FeeSoeeD | Beta]

Like many others below me, I did not enjoy this demo. I'll tell you exactly why it is a poor game.

The tutorial text is hard to read. Please consider a different font.

Using the W/Up keys to Use the Portal and to Jump is not a good idea. In Level 2, I had placed a portal between two pillars (where the key is), and I couldn't jump to get to the key. I would recommend using another key for Use.

When a portal bullet is launched, it automatically closes an open portal. This is extra annoying when I constantly miss my shots, and I accidentally close a portal that I wanted.

I don't like that you can only use the G key to control both portal bullets. If I painstakingly open a green portal, I want to be able to open a Blue Portal, run through the green portal to grab the key, then go back through the blue portal, and then launch another blue portal to a ledge near the green portal. However, if the game were to tell me that was the "limitation" of the gun, I would be okay with it, but still would question the choice.

There is no way to know how much charge the portal bullet has. Does it have a max charge time? If so, when is that max charge time? Sometimes it felt like the bullet would go further on a shorter charge. I would recommend adding a charge meter, and maybe a "fuel" gauge so we can better prepare our shots.

Guiding the Portal Bullet is hard, and not in a challenging way. I mostly overshoot or undershoot because I don't know how long to charge it, how long it will stay in the air, and I can't guide it down when I find a good spot. Instead, I have to waste lots of shots getting where I want to go, and then risk losing that portal if I miss the follow up.

Ultimately, your attitude and disrespect towards your audience make this experience even worse. I enjoyed the ambience, sound, graphics, and physics, but I won't give you any stars for them, nor will I recommend it on Steam. Let's examine your default statement for a few reviewers:

"Good afternoon."

Good evening.

"Already a lot of players write about the bad mechanics of the teleport. Why do you think so?"

A valid question. Some answered, others did not. I have my criticisms above.

Please also note that Newgrounds only allows us one review, and we can't respond to your responses, and I highly doubt anyone will PM you after the responses they get.

"I think the players are lazy to play games."

Of course we're lazy, we're playing Flash/Unity games on Newgrounds instead of doing important

"You want light and simple games."

Some do. Others don't. Some light and simple games are fun and good cool downs after a long day of work/school.

That said, people like to learn complex games and master them. It makes us feel awesome, and always amazes us at what people can make. That's why people love Portal, Overwatch, and others that require a different approach.

"Don't want to think and learn the game."

We want to learn the game, but pairing sloppy controls with guessing in a puzzle game leads to something we don't want to waste our time on.

"This is your problem."

It is? Goodness me, I should have known from the start it's my fault I can't play the game! I totally want to learn and support this game even more.

Instead of insulting us, take our feedback and improve your game. Or you can continue to be salty and receive poor reviews for both your games and your reputation.

[Deterministic Dungeon]

HeadShotGlass had a similar experience I had, so I'll try to avoid repeating that review (but I make no promises). I will also preface this with I stopped playing in the Silver floors. I will also make an occasional reference to Pokemon.

/*The Good*/
~A sense of progression...kinda.
The beginning of each dungeon is challenging and offers weaker enemies along with the option for new, tougher enemies. With enough grinding, the end of each dungeon is relatively easy. I was even able to walk up to previous floors and one shot most of the enemies.
While this works out great in the beginning of the game, it seems to stagnate near the end, especially if you can't level past 20.

~Intuitive game play.
It was easy to pick up and play, and never once said "How the heck do I do something?" during the game.

~Not being attacked by all enemies at once.
When I first encountered two of the tougher enemies, I was afraid I was doomed given the amount of damage they do. Thankfully, it was balanced by being attacked by one monster per turn, and allowed for some tactical thinking (for me, I would target the tough guys or the Mages first).

~Optional bosses.
The bosses are strong, and making them optional was very much appreciated. It allowed me to grind on higher level monsters and come back later.

~Solid damage formulas.
This ties in with the progression. I definitely felt stronger as I went along.

/*The Bad*/
~Unbalanced weapons.
Weapons were either high accuracy/low damage, high damage/low accuracy, or low damage/low accuracy. While the low accuracy can be mildly mitigated by choosing my attack, I kept ending on 0 more often than the regular odds. And yet, I felt I needed to use the higher damaging weapons so I wouldn't be crushed by the enemies who did significant damage. Which leads me to...

~Cannot heal outside of combat...or much for that matter.
While I appreciated being completely healed when leveling up, needing to use a scroll in combat only to heal was completely unintuitive and rather unfair. Even Pokemon lets me use a Potion outside of battle. Once the scrolls are gone, I'm boned. Given that I don't usually play Rogue style games, maybe this is normal, but it doesn't make me want to play again if I get so far.

~Crappy loot pool at higher levels.
The fact I was finding Plastic Shields, Bucket Helmets, and Butter Knives when I was level 17 and in the Silver floors was mildly insulting to say the least. The sense of progression I had felt before was gone at that point.
I also couldn't tell if the special weapons I got from the Golden Orbs were secretly amazing or intentionally bad. I couldn't risk using them in the later levels due to the high damage that was being dealt to me.

~Level floor layout tended to be similar for me.
A minor issue I experienced most of the floor plans ended up being the same. Most rooms would connect to each other.

/*Suggestions*/
~Add a currency and shop system.
Sacrificing gear in the magic room for powerful magic was neat, but I'd rather be able to sell the gear and purchase some "random" gear, especially healing items. It would also help clear out the huge clutter of gear I'm not using.

~Add stronger and more accurate weapons the further down you go.
If the weapons progressed with me, I would have enjoyed this game a lot more. Pokemon had their moves became progressively stronger and remained relatively accurate (unless you get to the stupid strong moves like Fire Blast, which has lower accuracy).
When I was making an RPG a few years ago (never made it out of beta, unfortunately), I realized I was undercutting the sense of progression by making the stronger moves inaccurate or causing splash damage. Why bother learning them then?

~Let the loot progress with me.
At some point, the Wooden and Plastic gear needs to be gone completely. I was shocked I could still get those at late levels, and fed up when I had the misfortune of getting them. Even though Destiny has a crappy RNG, at least it phases out the lowest tier items as you progress.

/*Overall*/
For the most part I enjoyed it, but got annoyed by the end. I appreciate that you've been reading and responding to the comments (which means you care). I look forward to seeing a sequel in the future.

~Pelo

PestoForce responds:

Thanks for the detailed review, I'll definitely keep it in mind for the mobile fully-fleshed-out version.

[Nekra psaria 4]

Very trippy, but surprisingly intuitive.

[Space is Key 2]

I don't normally like timing skill games, but like the last one I enjoyed this one. Maybe it was the simplicity, the simple humour, or the fact that it actually can be beaten. My only gripe with the game is having to jump right at the beginning, and the Armor Games advert showing up in the bottom row which blocked my view (I didn't realize it could be closed until after I beat the game).

Simple and silly, this is a skill game worth playing.

~Pelo

[Must Escape the Island]

While most of the game makes sense, the sand puzzles are absolutely horrible:

~We have no reason to move the mouse over the fine sand, let alone put it in a bottle.
~The X sign gives off the impression "do not enter". Why would we dig there? If there had been an X or "Treasure" on the map, it may have been more clear. Alternatively, make the sign clickable instead of the sand. Again, why would we think to click on the sand?

Otherwise, this was a decent puzzle game.

~Pelo

P.S. What's with the starfish?

[Escape Hollow Hills]

Pros?
+Creepy feeling.
+Good choice of images.
+Significantly improved navigation than your previous games.

Cons?
-Nothing stands out.
-A big "How the hell was I supposed to even think to look there?!" at the beginning of the game.

Overall?
I'm sorry to say, but this is a horrible game.

Although the environment is rich with detail, nothing stands out. For example, why would I want to click a rectangular fixture on the ceiling in Room M? Maybe if a light was flickering or if blood was dripping, then one would think to give it a second look. Plus, anything that looks like it could be interacted with, you can't.
(Please note I'm not saying make a big flashing sign saying, "CLICK ME". I'm just saying give us a reason to be interested in an area.)

My biggest complaint comes with the first puzzle in the game. How in the hell is anyone supposed to know to click on the pocket of the statue? The only evidence we have of a pocket is minimal change in shading. Maybe if the key had been sticking out of his pocket and was a lighter colour, then people might think to look there.

This game had potential...it really did. It falls short and isn't all that enjoyable. I hope the next escape game is more intuitive.

~Pelo

[Goin Up]

Pelo says...

Pros?
~Wonderful graphics as usual.
~Silly.
~Strangely addicting.

Cons?
~Poor combo tracking.
~No saves.

Overall?
A simple and fun game to pass the time. As always, Gonzossm has given us a silly set of characters and environments.

Two things bug me about this game. As many have mentioned before, this game is not saving, and if you blatantly advertise that in the opening screen, then this is completely unacceptable.

The other major problem I have with this game is how the game calculates combos. Either the time to get a combo is too short, the character jumps too high after a kill, the player simply moves too slow, or a combination makes it broken and virtually useless.

On the whole, a fun game with the basic upgrades, but two glaring problems prevent this from being spectacular.

~Pelo

[Rabbits and Eggs]

Pelo says...

Pros?
~Cute.
~Simple.
~Well put together.

Cons?
~Difficulty seeing some pieces.

Overall?
A very cute connecting game, but it's somewhat hampered by the signs blocking the shape of the path directly behind it. Otherwise, pretty good.

~Pelo

[Pixeland]

Pelo says...

Pros?
~Surprisingly addicting.
~Great learning curve.
~Challenging extra levels.

Cons?
~A little sensitive.
~Unlocking the puzzle mode.
~Exclamation Blocks aren't consistent.

Overall?
I gotta say, this game is really good...much better than Meatboy because it isn't brutally hard or impossible. The bonus levels at the end of each world are pretty awesome, too (except the last one, that's just cold). However, the collision detection feels a little too sensitive (did I really just hit that lava?).

My overall complaint is starting the Puzzle levels. I want to see what's in them, but I've given up trying to beat the final challenge. It requires absolute precision and an exact path. Those take away from the challenge and make it unnecessarily hard. One thing that also makes this final challenge difficult is the Exclamation Blocks' patterns don't restart when you die. I may have the right path down, but it doesn't mean anything if the Block is solid.

Perhaps instead of requiring all 5 challenge stars to unlock the puzzles, why not 4 so that if someone gets stuck, they can just come back to it later after the other levels?

Don't get me wrong, this game is great. It taught the game in a good way, and the difficulty curve was perfect.

Overall, great job on gameplay, but I'm disgruntled with the stars.

~Pelo

Starblinky responds:

Thank you!

Actually I completely agree with you with pretty much everything you've said.

I actually planned on keeping the game short! But when it was just the main 25 levels, it felt so bland, so I ended up adding in bonus levels. They were fun, so I kept them. But at this point I forgot all about my main focus of the game,which was to keep it seemingly short and simple.

Thanks a lot for the great review!